chickens in the city was Re: USDA Inspected

[Guest guest]

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> I wanted to know if you can share any info (on or off line) about

> how best to process chicken manure so that it will not offend our

> neighbors, how often to clean, how long to " age " the manure before

> use in the garden, of if that is even necessary. Our neighborhood

> would not enjoy total free range chickens as we are too " in " city

> for that, but we are secluded enough that back yard chickens would

> be ok.

> Leann

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I don't know much about this (it's on my list of topics to dig into

sometime), but you might want to look into using EM.

Here's a random link to get you started:

http://tinyurl.com/2ft5t

I think there are about using EM in raising animals.

Mike

SE Pennsylvania

[Guest guest]

>

>Thanks for bringing up your ideas about rototilling with a chicken

>tractor. We live in an older, recently annexed part of our fair

>city, and our yard is approximately 1/2 acre. Our goal for the

>coming summer is to get some chickens, a fantasy I have entertained

>for 2 years--and now we live someplace where we could legally have

>chickens.

Cool! It was my dream for a long time too, growing up in LA. Well, now I

hear there are a LOT of chickens in LA, mostly fighting cocks ...

>I wanted to know if you can share any info (on or off line) about

>how best to process chicken manure so that it will not offend our

>neighbors, how often to clean, how long to " age " the manure before

>use in the garden, of if that is even necessary. Our neighborhood

>would not enjoy total free range chickens as we are too " in " city

>for that, but we are secluded enough that back yard chickens would

>be ok.

They don't smell unless they are too crowded. If you have a moveable pen, just

move it every so often. If you don't, then put some straw at the bottom of the

pen and change it when it smells (and use the straw on your garden). It REALLY

depends on your climate and how many chickens you have. However, I saw

an INDOOR setup locally where they had 4 hens in a pen, in a shed, 4x8 feet.

At the bottom of the pen they had " horse stable pellets " -- compressed pellets

for horse stalls, they are just pine shavings ultra-dried. They guy said those

hens had been on those pellets for 6 months, and they didn't smell a bit. The

pellets dissolve into sawdust, and you can put it on the garden to control

weeds.

I've put it straight on the plants with no aging, but only on bigger plants

(blueberries,

for instance). If you want to age it, put it in a pile and let it set til it

turns into

dirt, or into a worm bin.

I was impressed so I used the pellets in the chicken coop, and sure enough,

the coop stayed pretty nice for almost a year, until the weather got really wet.

However, I'm not a good resource for " neighborhood " chickens because mine

have a lot of room and the neighbors are a long way away.

There are some good hints on:

http://www.backyardchickens.com/

I don't think " total free range " chickens are a great idea whether or not

you are in the country. My Mom had one " wild " hen, which recently " disappeared " .

They have a high mortality rate, if they are really wild. Mine are in a pen,

and

I let them out sometimes to forage, but they are locked in at night. I lost 5

this summer though, probably from a coyote. One year I lost 6 due to some

kind of poisoning, but I never discovered what they were eating. Also, if they

are " free " , they lay eggs wherever they feel like, which is likely what inspired

the

first " Easter egg hunts " .

If they are in a pen, you can toss them your " weeds " when you

weed the garden too. I did that a lot when they were in a smaller

space. They would eat the weeds, and also the bugs off the roots.

>Several years ago I read a book on the history of using human sewage

>for crop fertilizer and was very impressed--not sure if this is the

>right living situation to begin my experiment with *that* though!

Seems like that would get into a lot of legalities and social issues ... I

haven't tried

it either! We have a septic system and I figure it amounts to the same thing,

more

or less. We do compost most of what comes out of the house, or feed it to some

animal, but I have not had a real garden for many years except berries (child

care issues,

in my case). We compost mainly to get rid of kitchen waste, but my plans are to

start

a good salad garden. We also have herbs and rhubarb though.

Our greatest invention for compost, BTW, is: buried trash cans! Just bury a

trash can

about halfway, so the critters can't knock it over. Then put your compost in it,

and

a layer of dirt, and some worms. We have holes drilled in it so the worms can

get in

and out from outside too. Takes next to no room, and you can just dump your

kitchen waste into it (the waste that can't go to the chickens, that is). When

one

can gets full, cover the first with some dirt, and move to the next. When the

first

turns into " dirt " , dump it into the garden or whatever.

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

Leann,

Chicken manure has the highest acidity of livestock manures so it should be

allowed at least 2 years of aging before applying directly to a garden.

Otherwise you burn the plants you apply it to. Heidi has brought up moveable

pens, straw, pellet bottoms which would change this. Pine shavings are

acidic too so with manure in them you'd end up having to adjust your garden

soil.

Wanita

> I wanted to know if you can share any info (on or off line) about

> how best to process chicken manure so that it will not offend our

> neighbors, how often to clean, how long to " age " the manure before

> use in the garden, of if that is even necessary.

> Leann

>